Super-fast IoT Enabled 5G is Right Around the Corner, Or Is It?
Winston Churchill said it best: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” We all experienced the infamous 3G to 4G mobile network transition. Although the specifications and standards for 4G were established a decade ago, they took a very long time to materialize. The International Telecommunications Union-Radio (ITU-R) decided upon the specifications for 4G back in 2008. We have seen a number of different names appear for networks that promise 4G data speeds, many of which provide very different results to consumers. The problem with creating standards is twofold. Firstly, the standards aren’t strictly enforceable as the ITU-R has no control over carrier implementations. Secondly, the transition from an old standard to a new one doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a long period where early networks don’t necessarily match up with what consumers expect. Although most advanced 4G LTE markets are past this stage now, these network types are still developing in some...